One of the greatest things about visiting iceland at this time of the year: the country is bathed in sunlight 24 hours of the day. Because of how close Iceland is to the arctic circle, the sun at this time of year never fully sets… leaving you with beautiful sunset skies all “night” long.
Best part: it means you can do anything, at any time of the day. It’s liberating. Some days we’ve even taken an evening nap and then headed out for further adventures after midnight. Just to enjoy the pretty skies and the feeling of being the only ones out. It’s been one of our favorite things about visiting Iceland at this time of the year.
Examples? We’ve stood behind a powerful waterfall feeling like the only ones in the world…
Or, we went skinny dipping in one of the natural hot springs bubbling in every corner of the country. After a short hike to the bottom of a hilly valley surrounded by waterfalls, we discovered this hot pool, filled with the warm geothermal waters of the mountain above. Abandoned, we decided to hop in for a relaxing swim at 2 am feeling the mossy rocks under our feet.
Thankfully only a single sheep was watching from the mountain hilltops. And only second to that was hanging out with and feeding some Icelandic horses roaming in the meadows after midnight:
Daylight hours in Iceland vary from only 4 hours in January and December, up to the longest of almost 24 in June.
Disclaimer: All the photos in this post were taken between the hours of 2400 and 0300.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION: Getting to Seljavallalaug Pool
Seljavallalaug Pool is located in the southwest corner of Iceland, not far from Skogar. To find the pool turn off of the Ring Road on 242 (Raufarfellsvegur). This road will veer to the right but there will be an option to continue north on “Seljavellir”. Take this option. The road will turn into a dirt road and you will cross over a Texas gate. Continue until you can no longer drive, where you will see a large berm and a river. Park your car here and follow the stream/river up into the valley. The pool will be around the first bend and will take about 15 min to get to on foot. You can’t see it from far away so keep walking and it will pop out when you turn the corner. The exact location is also on our map.
hello, I am planning a 2 day stop over in iceland. Would love to get your map and ideas on what is posssible in this short time.
Many thanks.
Luke
Hey Luke,
Iceland is great! Glad you have a little bit of time to stop over there. If I had to give you ideas on what you can accomplish in 2-days my first question would be what you would prefer to do because you will not be able to do much in that time. Option 1 would be to spend a day in Reykjavik and then a day exploring the Golden Circle or Snaesfellsness (your choice). Option 2 would be to explore a bit farther from Reykjavik and perhaps drive to Vik and explore the surrounding area.
I think it is really up to you. Let me know which way you are leaning and I can give you suggestions on how to make the most of your time.
shane